OT- Sgt dau over the pond tonite..... again

Shared some news with fellow Legion members tonite at our meeting....Sgt dau called from I95 between Ft. Bragg, NC and Baltimore this afternoon....headed to Germany tonite, will be in Afghanistan tomorrow for her second deployment. This one, 6 months. She"s in a PsyOps company at the JFK Special Warfare Center in Bragg, same place I had the Special Forces training in mid 60s.

She"ll work at the embassy in Kabul. PsyOps are psychological warfare...the mindbenders, the leafletters. Basically they analyze local conditions, come up with ideas to convince the nationals to come to our side. As a female, she can"t be SF like I was, what she wanted to join, but it"s the closest thing to it that the Army allows for female soldiers.

First deployment, Army kept her on jump status, and let her make catchup jumps later.....status means $100 per month extra pay. We got $55 in the 60s, Officers always double. (they"re worth more !/?. Trusting your life to a 32 foot circle of nylon from 1250 feet. But, that"s what our troopers do! Of course, it"s more...duty, honor, country, service...in a more elite unit...strac unit...

Month ago, Jen called, said, Dad, I"ve got 20-21 jumps, how many you made? I said 22 in 3 years, but numbers don"t matter....you earned your wings in jump school,(PROUDEST DAY OF MY LIFE WHEN i PINNED THOSE WINGS ON HER!)- i CAN"T SEE THE SCREEN NOW, BUT IT"S OK) just like your uncle in 1961, his two sons later, me in 1965, you and your hubby in 2010, all on the same towers in Ft. Benning. Bottom line...you jumped out of a perfectly good aircraft while in flight (any paratrooper understands that phrase).....and that is something any sane person would never do.

ok- regrouping now....on Jen"s first deployment I shared it with all of my friends on this board. Your response was more than fantastic! I printed out about a dozen pages of your good wishes, your compliments, your prayers, etc. and sent them to her. She was most appreciative and thanked you for your good words. She is so typical of all of our troops that serve us.

Tell her to stay safe and thanks for her service.

My thank you goes out to her and all others who served to protect our country.

I fully understand your pride in pinning on your Jump Wings. I felt same when my Captain pinned my first Dolphins (submarine qualification pin) in 1963. Both of these warfare badges are EARNED, not awarded for just showing up, like so many medals the troops and sailors wear nowadays.
God Speed to the Sgt., I know she will do you and our country proud!!

Thank her and thank you for your service. I still remember SFC Sosebee(sp?) SF at Ft Lewis in 1967, an instructor in a 2wk PLC class before AIT. One of the most impressive instructors and individuals of many I met in the US Army.

You should be proud, and I can tell you are by your post!!! Congratulations to you, and most of all tell her thanks.

Rick

You have something to be proud of.

My youngest son, 4 years active Navy, now National Guard, infantry, should be making SGT pretty soon. His command is going to let me pin him! Will be a proud moment for me.

Rick

One of my best friends made every combat jump with the 82d during WWII (The Big One). In about 1950, he was one of only a handful in his original company left alive and he was the only one who could walk. I stood in awe of such people and I stand in awe of those who follow..

You were in SF. Did you ever run into Charlie Beckwith? Charlie was one of my best friends back in the 50s. We went to ranger school together.

Please tell your daughter, thanks for her service and be safe. Her MOS sounds impressive- it is important to psychologically understand the enemy. Oldest daughter is Navy- we do not know most of what she does. It is top secret and probably necessary.

Can"t say that I knew him, but there"s some familiarity there. Isn"t there an author by that name? SF was always a close-knit outfit....not many of us around.....8500 of us in the mid 60s, around the world.

googled his name....commanded 7th SFG at Bragg in the 60s, created Delta Force, authored a book about it.

Yeah, always a proud moment when you can do that! BTW- I forgave you a long time ago when you made the comment about how only two things fall from the sky, and one was a paratrooper! LOL! Always respected your years of service...my bro was lifetime Army. I"ve always appreciated the camaraderie of Veterans.....no matter the branch of service. MY family has a history in your area...youngest sister is buried in Fergus....BIL was plant manager at Ottertail Power. I think it would be fun to meet up sometime....Jim

TU- Yes, re MOS...couple years ago she was approached by CIA...she/hubby have Army Arabic language training....writing/speaking...Hubby will ETS late this year, has a degree in Physics, going to other school beyond...dau will continue in Army for awhile, will ETS after 7 years...about 2016.

Remember the song, Ballad of the Green Berets, by SSG Barry Sadler, circa Spring 1966? I was out of SF training group, just finishing Spanish language course at Presidio of Monterey, CA, April, 1966, prior to going overseas. I had two issues with that song...100 men will test today, only 3 win the green beret. 3 out of a hundred? I did the math, my own experience....yes, Barry was right....3% finished the training. But win a green beret? No, it was not a lottery... we 3% EARNED it!

That's the guy. A terrific soldier. Took the rap for the ill-fated Iran raid. Wasn't his fault. Ariel Sharon said it best: "What, America is running out of helicopters?"
Charlie retired and died a few years ago.